Wearables: Mobile Apps at Your Fingertips

How often is your smartphone out of reach? For most people, the answer is probably “rarely, if ever.” By some estimates, users unlock their devices around 100 times a day—and for many people, that might even seem a tad on the conservative side. Our devices are increasingly connected with every aspect of our lives: they connect us with our families and friends through voice and messaging services, they entertain us through music and streaming apps, they help us keep active through mobile health and fitness programs—there isn’t much they don’t do for us. And as technology continues to become more easily miniaturized, wearable technology is starting to take a more prominent place in our day-to-day lives.

Wearable technology has a longer history than you may realize: the very first piece of wearable tech was used in the 1960s, and early versions of commercially available wearable technology, things like calculator wristwatches and Walkmans, were subsequently introduced in the 1970s and 1980s. It should go without saying, of course, that we’ve come a long way since then.
A recent study by GlobalWebIndex found that 71% of people aged 16 – 24 want wearable technology, and as wearable tech gets ever more complex and seamlessly integrated with our other devices, there’s no reason to assume that percentage will go anywhere but up. And while dedicated wearable technology like Fitbit are becoming more commonplace, the bigger platforms that many mobile app developers are interested in are smart watches.

Smart watches are exciting for plenty of reasons, not the least of which is their versatility. They add another layer of convenience to common smartphone tasks, putting messages and valuable information directly on your wrist, but they can also serve as a means of paying bills (once they’re connected with a user’s digital wallet), controlling connected smart home devices, or even as an ultra-convenient place to keep your boarding pass.

Consumers are clamoring for this kind of convenience from their devices, and it’s hard not to see how a smart watch is the epitome of that ease of use. The biggest challenge, when it comes to integrating a mobile app with a smart watch, is the space: how can you make your app functional and appealing to users without exceeding the minute screen space that a watch face presents?
The answer—as it so often seems to be—is to partner with an experienced mobile app developer who has a proven track record with smart watches. Striking the fine balance that a smart watch’s display requires is no easy feat.

Some mobile app developers have long recognized the impending impact of wearables, and they have made certain that they are well positioned to specialize in crafting apps that work seamlessly with devices like smart watches. Guaraná Technologies for example, specializes in apps that are a perfect fit for the Apple Watch—and they have been trailblazers in perfecting that connectivity since the Apple Watch was first released (which bodes well for the future of the Apple Watch-connected app that you’re hoping to develop).

The dominance of wearable tech is coming—so we may as well embrace it. And while to some it may seem intimidating, to younger consumers, it will be nothing but natural to deck themselves in tech before very long. Wearable technology—and especially smart watches—offers apps an incredible avenue by which to communicate and connect with users,as long as it’s done the right way.